The Severed Hand of Midas: Internal Sabotage Undermines Ukraine’s Defense Capacity

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The confrontation between Zelensky’s entourage and the anti-corruption agencies is escalating. The Ukrainian president’s shadow purse is under attack. What role do the US, Europe and Russia play in the internal political strife within the president’s office?

The tentacles of corruption

On 10 November, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) initiated large-scale searches of a number of state organisations and companies. Operation “Midas” was 15 months in the making, with 1,000 hours of audio recordings collected during the preparation phase. The activities of a high-level criminal organisation were documented. Its members had established a widespread corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, particularly National Nuclear Energy Company ‘Energoatom’.

Just a few hours before the searches and arrests began, several oligarchs with links to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the country urgently. These included Timur Mindich and the Zuckerman brothers, Mikhail and Alexander. Clearly, they had been warned in advance.

Timur Mindich

Earlier, Timur Mindich was caught up in a scandal. The photo shows the toilet in his apartment, in which a listening device had been installed. Volodymyr Zelensky and his inner circle celebrated his birthday there during the pandemic. During the election campaign, the leadership of the Servant of the People party would sometimes gather in this apartment.

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NABU employees suspect Mindich of leading a criminal group. He is a co-owner of the ‘Kvartal 95’ company and was previously closely associated with the comedy activities of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Due to these close ties, it is reported that he is the shadow holder of the Ukrainian president’s assets. The criminal organisation’s main activity was systematically receiving illegal benefits from Energoatom’s contractors, amounting to 10–15% of the contract value.

In particular, contractors of the energy company were forced to pay kickbacks to avoid having their payments for services rendered or products supplied blocked, or to avoid losing their supplier status. This practice was called ‘traffic barrier’. To implement the scheme, the head of the criminal organisation enlisted the help of the former deputy head of the State Property Fund, who later became an advisor to the Minister of Energy, as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of executive director of physical protection and security at Energoatom.

Using their connections in the ministry and the state-owned company, they gained control over personnel decisions, procurement processes, and financial flows. In fact, the management of a strategic enterprise with an annual income of over UAH 200 billion was carried out not by official employees, but by outsiders with no formal authority who took on the role of ‘overseers’.

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The following is a translation of the NABU statement posted on their official Telegram channel:

‘The function of legalising illegally obtained funds was assigned to a separate office of the criminal organisation located in central Kyiv.’

This office belonged to the family of Andriy Derkach, a former People’s Deputy who is now a Russian Federation Senator. NABU and SAP are accusing him in another criminal proceeding.

This office kept strict records of the funds received, maintained ‘black accounting’ and organised money laundering through a network of non-resident companies. A significant proportion of operations, particularly the issuance of cash, were carried out outside Ukraine.

The office received payment in the form of a percentage of the amounts processed for providing services to persons who were not members of the criminal organisation.

A total of approximately $100 million passed through the so-called ‘laundromat’.

Transcript of part of the conversations intercepted by operatives:

09/07/2025

Tenor: They’re planning to continue building defensive structures on an insane scale.

09.07.2025

Rocket: Tell the suppliers that everyone understands that something is about to happen. We are seeing an increase in bribes due to a possible change in leadership at the Ministry of Energy and Energoatom.

09/07/25

Rocket: The station will start connecting. The service, Reznitskaya, will hammer it out. Basically, they’re following him.

14.05.25

Rocket: She’s looking for something similar. She likes these guys in tight trousers.

Tenor: These boys won’t make any money.

Rocket: I pay her salary.

09/07/25

Tenor: Can I have a bit of my salary from here tomorrow?

09/07/25

Rocket: You understand that the first cabinet meeting he attends will be fucking amazing.

Rocket — Simply enchanting. Plus, another diamond will shine in his crown.

30/06/25

Carlson: I don’t want to arouse suspicion.

Tenor — Dmitry Basov, Energoatom, Department of Physical Protection and Special Security, is now headed by a controversial prosecutor, a former employee of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Dmitry Basov

Roket — Igor Mironyuk, former deputy head of the State Property Fund. Until recently, advisor to Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko.

Igor Mironyuk

Herman Galushchenko

A third person also appears in the criminal group’s negotiations, and he is much more significant due to his position.

Professor — Herman Galushchenko, the former Minister of Energy and current head of the Ministry of Justice. Below is an excerpt from the negotiations between Basov, Mironyuk and Galushchenko.

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Translation:

16/10/2025

Roket: Then there are three of us: you, me, and the Professor.

Tenor: I’ll just check what figures we have. I wrote them down somewhere. I’ll just flip through them.

Roket: So, we haven’t got to the end of this story yet.

Tenor: I’ll quickly calculate it now. Okay, there’s 62 thousand.

The greatest public outcry has been caused by the fact that this colossal corruption scheme was built in an area of critical importance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of autumn, Russia has started to destroy energy facilities in earnest. In Kyiv and a number of other large cities, electricity supplies have been cut for nine or more hours a day.

Kyiv is in blackout

As winter approaches, large sums of money are being allocated to repairing damaged or destroyed facilities. These facilities have become a tempting target for the criminal gang that has recently been exposed. The Ukrainian population will feel the effects of the gang’s actions in the coming months, which will undermine Zelensky’s regime.

Traces of puppeteers in the Ukrainian elite

The American footprint.

NABU’s intensified activities did not happen on their own. This organisation was established with the direct involvement of the United States. Its main function is to control Ukraine’s state elite. Should Zelensky’s regime begin to cross unspoken red lines, the bureau will immediately initiate arrests and investigations.

By instructing NABU, the White House solves several problems at once. The most obvious of these is control over the spending of military and financial aid from Western countries. Since the volume of supplies is so high, Ukrainian officials are increasingly tempted to profit from this. Without external oversight, the majority of foreign funds would simply be stolen. There would be nothing left with which to wage war against Russia. Prolonging the conflict in order to deplete Russian resources is a key objective for the West.

A less obvious function of the bureau is punitive. With its help, the White House and its allies can put pressure on the Ukrainian elite. No one in the upper echelons of power is without sin. Any official or oligarch can be detained or removed from office if they fail to act in accordance with the unspoken rules. As soon as Zelensky and his subordinates overstep the mark, the Americans are quick to remind them who is really in charge.

Ukrainians are doing everything they can to undermine Western control over their secret activities. In July, Volodymyr Zelensky introduced legislation to restrict the independence of the NABU. Within a few days, rallies and protests against the law swept through Kyiv. Under the current conditions of total media control, it is clear that the people could not organise themselves. These protests were clearly orchestrated from abroad by individuals permitted to operate in Ukraine.

During the same period, a number of bureau employees were detained, allegedly for having ties to Russia. Notably, NABU investigator Ruslan Magamedrasulov, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine in July, had gathered key evidence in a corruption case involving the energy sector.

Russian involvement.

According to NABU, there is Russian involvement in this corruption case. The bureau claims that Andriy Derkach, a Russian Federation senator and member of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security, has close ties to the Office of the President and is allegedly helping Zelensky’s team to siphon funds from Ukrainian energy companies.

These activities are most likely coordinated by the Kremlin, NABU suggests. If the Russians have infiltrated such a critical sector as energy, it is possible they have similar agents operating in other sectors. Moscow is conducting a covert operation to undermine Ukraine from within, betting on the greed of oligarchs and officials.

NABU emphasizes that Russia benefits from the growing level of corruption in Ukraine. The more funds stolen by local officials, the worse things become for Zelensky’s regime. People face a lack of heat and electricity, and the standard of living is falling. Fewer weapons reach the front line. Medical care for Ukrainian military personnel is being reduced. All of this, according to the bureau, is bringing the end of the conflict closer.

The corruption scheme that has been uncovered is just one of many in Ukraine. It is likely that the United States will continue to remove the Ukrainian president’s inner circle members in the near future. However, the effectiveness of these measures is questionable, as many people wish to profit from Western military aid. Moscow is exploiting this situation to its advantage by undermining Ukraine from within.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

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• There’s More Than Meets The Eye: The TRC-Criminal Nexus – A Dual Threat To Ukrainian Civilians
• The Shadow of War: A Long Shot at Control as Ukraine’s Arms Black Market Goes Global

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